


Resistance

by Mary Reed (Mary_Reed)



Series: Juno Steel and the Be Gay Do Crimes Squad (Feat. RITA) [2]
Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: @thepensword, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, I tripped on TAZ Amnesty and stumbled into a fic with plot who AM I, M/M, and this is the result, basically I listened to the newer TAZ Amnesty posts and thought "what if Peter had a Boyd?", for that good good Ned Chicane/Peter Nureyev parallel, guess what it's PETER'S past coming back to haunt him, thanks to, while also thinking "what if someone tortured Juno to make Peter do something?"
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-03-09 01:01:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18906304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mary_Reed/pseuds/Mary%20Reed
Summary: Juno and Nureyev are doing a job planetside (Venus, this time) so Buddy and Vespa can get some much needed space, and it’s going really well until it isn’t. It’s been over a year, but Juno and Peter still work together seamlessly in the field, Peter applying finesse when necessary, Juno applying force when a light touch just won’t do. With Juno’s sharp eyes and Peter’s deft hands, they manage to lift the bank codes they’re looking for, and it looks like they’re going to get away smoothly, it really does. They’ve got some pursuers, but they’re making good progress avoiding the palace guards.Juno should've known it's never that easy.





	1. The Heist

**Author's Note:**

> Well I tripped on every WIP I have going and landed on a new fic that's clearly going to be long and involved. I promise I'll also do the other stuff, but sometimes you just have to let the plot run you. Also I really wanted an excuse to put Peter in a modified version of That Suit from the Try Guys steak episode. 
> 
> As always, more specific trigger warnings are in the end notes, and if you think I've missed anything shoot me a message or a comment! It's...vaguely edited?

They’ve been on the ship for a month when Juno’s luck finally runs out. The crew has run a few jobs with almost no hiccups, a miracle from Juno’s perspective, although Buddy looks at him incredulously when he says so. Things are going well, and the tension between him and Nureyev has lessened despite their inability to force a conversation about what happened. 

Juno should’ve known it was too good to be true. 

Buddy had announced to the crew magnanimously that they were going to run a heist, Vespa chiming in with savage glee that she was excited to “steal some shit from some rich motherfuckers.” It was clearly a two person job, and while Juno and “Lovelace” were certainly best suited for the task, Juno couldn’t help but feel from the rundown of the mission specs that Buddy just wanted their odd tension off her ship for a couple of days. “The job is twofold: you’ll need to liberate our Venusian friend of her bank codes, which she keeps written on a ledger in her safe, but it’s impossible to break in without a retinal scan, so you’ll have to get both.” Buddy gestured to a map of the Novik Manor, indicating the matriarch’s office. “Her bank codes will be stored here, but ideally she won’t be in the room at the time, so you’ll have to get her retinal some other way.”

“You know, I actually have something for that,” Nureyev said with a devilish grin. "There's a lovely device which can take a retinal scan and replicate it for biometric locks that I happened to...acquire from a colleague."Juno groaned theatrically, only for Rita to kick him under the coffee table. It set off a full on tussle, Juno tackling Rita and then Rita trying and failing to put him in a headlock, squawking the whole time about “HR violations!” while Nureyev absolutely cackled. Vespa, who was always less than a foot away from Buddy these days, chuckled quietly from her perch behind her wife, and even Jet was smiling. 

“ _Anyway_ , Novik’s having a party tonight. Jude, we got you on the guest list as Florian Pewter, and Juno you’ve been hired by Roselia Catering as a last minute server. Juno, you need to get the master key off one of the guards who’ll be supervising the kitchen. Jude, you’ll have a short range transmitter which you should be able to use to send Juno the retinal scan, if this device is the one I think it is.” He simply grinned sharply in response. 

“Wait, so I have to do _work_ and N-Lovelace gets to dress up and schmooze?” Juno was affronted, and Rita, who had somehow already procured three different types of eyeliner and violently gold nail polish without getting up, lowered them in obvious disappointment. 

“Aww, I was lookin forward to gettin Mistah Steel all gussied up.” 

“Dear Rita, I could always use assistance preparing for a mission involving the kind of…plumage this one does.” Nureyev’s eyes glittered mischievously; everyone knew he hardly needed help in the makeup department, considering his eyeliner was always sharper than the plasma cutter Juno stored in his coat sleeve. But the way Rita lit up was more than worth it, and Juno locked eyes with Nureyev in silent thanks as she bolted out the door to grab more supplies. 

“Rita, dear, we weren’t- well, she’ll figure out her part as we go along I imagine.” Buddy waved her hand dismissively towards the hall to Rita’s bunk. “Are you two clear on what you’ll be doing? Jet will be providing backup on board the ship and we’ll meet you at the extraction point _here_ ,” she gestured to an open patch of lawn roughly thirty yards behind the mansion, “as soon as you have what we need. You can take the service tunnels to a hatch located towards the back of this open space. You’ll be on comms the entire time.” Juno and Nureyev both nodded. Juno went to ask what Buddy and Vespa would be doing during this whole affair, but Vespa glared daggers at him from where she had practically wrapped herself around Buddy’s arm, as if she could hear his unspoken question. 

She and Vespa are noticeably absent on the comms, their bunk door having been locked as soon as the plan was finalized for “as long as we damn well please, Steel,” but Jet offers tips to Nureyev and words of encouragement delivered in monotone to Juno, and Rita guides them with personnel dossiers and escape routes like the shrill guardian angel she is. 

“Oh my gosh, an undercover heist, how exciting!” Rita shrieks into the comms. Juno winces, almost tipping a flute of champagne in the process. 

“Dammit Rita, you’re gonna make me drop something.” He’s currently balancing three different trays on his arms, one of champagne and two displaying various hors d’oeuvres. He’s weaving between guests and wishing he’d spent more time watching Ben learn to be light on his feet when he’s stopped cold. Standing by an expensively adorned woman in a long, elegant dress is the most beautiful man Juno has ever seen. Nureyev always knocks him off his feet a little, but because he’d been forced to leave earlier to make his catering shift ( _Fuck he’s never catering again_ ) he’d missed seeing what outfit Nureyev was going to wear. And holy hell is it an outfit. A sleek, perfectly tailored pantsuit, rich red silk overlaid with delicate, pure white lace, complemented by ruby red stilettos that he's sure are concealing at _least_ two knives; Juno forgets how to breathe. Nureyev turns in his direction as he’s saying something to their mark, and Juno flushes red. He turns to make a hasty retreat, colliding directly with a party guest.

“Watch where you’re going, don’t you know who I _am_?” he asks incredulously. 

“Sorry, sir,” Juno mutters through his teeth.

“Boss, what happened?” 

“I just got…distracted…” Nureyev snickers lightly over the comms at that, and Juno flushes red. 

“Lovelace, have you acquired the retinal scan?” asks Jet.

Out of his peripheral vision, Juno sees Nureyev lay a hand on Novik’s arm and lean in to whisper something in her ear. “Would you like to take this somewhere more, private?” he purrs, and Juno shoves down a wave of jealousy. 

“Juno, please acquire the key and begin making your way to the safe room. It would appear Lovelace will be sending you the scan shortly.” Beneath Jet’s instructions, Juno can hear Rita giggling incoherently. 

“On it. Rita, pull it together.” 

“He’s just so…” she trails off into more snickering. 

“Oh for god’s sakes,” Juno mutters. Still balancing three trays, he makes his way hastily back towards the kitchen. Leaning against the sink at the back of the room is his target, a nasty looking guard jingling a ring of keys with a bored expression. 

Sleight of hand is not Juno’s forte, but making a scene? That Juno can do. So he walks right towards the guard, still holding the trays, and yells, “hey you!” The guard startles and turns in Juno’s direction. “I need that sink you big idiot!” 

“Don’t you think you’re laying it on a little thick boss?” Rita asks. The guard is standing to his full height now, well over six feet of scarred muscle, fingers clenched around the key ring that Juno needs, but Juno hasn’t stopped walking and the guard realizes just a moment too late that if he doesn’t move, Juno’s going to go right through him. They collide with a cacophonous shattering of glass and plates, and in the commotion Juno spots the guard drop his keys. 

“What the fuck?” The guard is clearly pissed. 

“Hey, I told you to mo-“ Juno’s retort is cut off by a punch to the face. “Ow.” 

“Watch where you’re fucking going,” the guard growls, wiping the remnants of shrimp crudité off of his shirt and stalking away. 

“Boss, you okay???” 

“I’m just great, thanks for asking.” He jingles the keys by his ear with a grin that’s only slightly undercut by the immediate hiss of pain that follows. “Damn that guy packs a punch.”

“Juno, you did not tell us your plan involved inciting the guard to violence.” Jet sounds concerned.

“Yeah, because I knew you’d try to talk me out of it.” 

“Hmm. I shall inform Vespa that you will need treatment for possible head trauma when you return.” 

“That’s not necessary big guy-“ 

“I insist. Concussions are not something you should make light of, Juno.”

“Yeah, in my streams they always have the good guys get knocked out and then they wake up fine, but that’s not how it works in real life boss, you oughta know that! Remember that time you couldn’t read for a week after one of Cecil’s traps knocked you out? Or OH! Remember when you-“

Juno cuts her off. “Yes, Rita, I remember. Jet, fine, I will see Vespa when we’re done here. Fuck.” He hears Rita huff in frustration, but no further commentary comes rushing out of his comms.

He starts moving towards the stairs at the back of the massive ballroom they’re in, picking up a couple of trays off a trolley as he goes. “The boss said you gotta take these back to the kitchen.” He shoves the plates of hors d’oeuvres into the hands of a harried-looking server working too close to the back stairs for comfort and shakes his arms out. 

He’s almost to the safe room when he feels the device in his pocket vibrate three times. “Jet, that’s a go, right?” He tries and fails not to think about how Nureyev got in a position to take Novik’s retinal scan. 

“Yes Juno, the scan has been transferred. Have you reached the location?”

“Yep, just got to the door big guy.” He pulls the master key out… and notices a brand new deadbolt installed just above the high tech lock. “Aaaaand there’s a new lock.”

“Is this going to be an issue Juno?” Jet asks at the same time Rita shrieks “Ooo a _twist_!”

“Nah, nothing I can’t handle. Why people think manual locks are safer I’ll never know,” he mutters to himself. He pulls two modified bobby pins out of his hair and has the door unlocked in one minute flat, and makes his way to the portrait behind which lies the safe.

He waves to the security camera in the corner, and is rewarded with Rita yelling, “aww, hi boss! Isn’t this fun? It’s just like that stream about the dog detective who had to solve the murder of that starlet, but the twist was that it was his owner all along!” Rita launches into a retelling of _Fido: The Mean Streets of New Jupiter_ , and Juno feels himself relax. This? Breaking into safes while Rita chatters in his ear? This feels familiar, her chatter a welcome distraction from the maelstrom of emotions rushing through him over Nureyev and this new crew and the fact that he’s here to steal more than information. 

He pulls the device from his pocket and shines the modified comms’ mini holo projector into the retinal scanner, magnetizing a small chip to the keypad at the same time. “Alright Rita, work your tech-magic. You should be in.” 

Within moments, the lock gives a small beep and clicks open. “Ha, take that fancy tech.” Behind him, Juno hears a light footstep and whirls around, reaching for a gun he realizes belatedly he doesn’t have on him. Fortunately, it’s Nureyev lounging up against the doorframe. 

“Christ N-Lovelace, you’re lucky I didn’t chuck something at you.” 

He raises one perfectly gelled eyebrow and gestures at the lock picking set in Juno’s left hand. “Were you planning on defending yourself with those? I didn’t take you for the death by a thousand cuts type, Juno.” 

“Haha, very funny, but I’ll have you know one time I did actually fight my way out of a cop bar using these babies.” 

“That’s true Mistah Lovelace/Glass, I had to pick him up later when he collapsed from blood loss because one of the detectives stabbed him with a broken beer bottle, but he got ‘em good too!”

“Rita, not helping my case here.” Juno puts a hand to his forehead in a practiced gesture. “Anyway, I thought you were supposed to meet me at the pickup point. What are you doing up here?” 

“Oh, I’m here to escort you out, dear detective. You have a habit of falling into…difficult situations during escapes and we rather like you with all your limbs attached.” Nureyev’s tone is flippant, but there is a hardness in his eyes that suggests he’s imagining Juno on the other side of an ancient door. 

His gut instinct is to make a snarky comment, but the carefully concealed pain on Nureyev’s face gives him pause. “Yeah, well…thanks,” he says instead. The look of surprise on Nureyev’s face lets Juno know he made the right choice. A small smile creeps onto his face, mirrored on Nureyev’s, before he offers a hand to lift Juno off the floor. 

Their gazes meet, and Juno can’t pull his eyes away from Nureyev’s, a clear, sharp brown he could fall into, eyes he almost had, once upon a time… 

“Jude and Juno, I believe guards are beginning to head in your direction. I suggest you move towards the extraction point.” Jet’s monotone voice shatters the moment, although Juno, for his part, is still very much wrapped up in Nureyev in his head as they move out the door and towards the service entrance to the basement. 

And then they’re running, and there’s no time for lingering glances or silent apologies for a life they could’ve led. It’s been over a year, but Juno and Peter still work together seamlessly in the field, Peter applying finesse when they run into other guests who want to know where they’re going, Juno applying force when Nureyev’s light touch won’t get a particularly nosy member of the wait staff to lay off in the service tunnels. 

It’s five minutes later when the proverbial shit hits the fan. “Oh god _dammit_ ,” Juno curses. He can hear someone hot on their heels, and he’s too well-versed in fleeing to believe it could be anything but a security guard barking unintelligibly into some kind of radio. 

“Now now, detective, we have a head start and our wits about us. We knew we may attract unwanted attention; that considered, this is all going rather swimmingly!” He sounds exhilarated, the excitement belied by the fact that the bastard isn’t even out of breath while Juno struggles to wheeze through his own asthma and lack of habitual cardio. 

“You’re gonna wanna take a left here, boss.”

“Rita, are you sure it’s a left?” Juno asks, panting. 

“Yeah, boss! When have I ever steered you wrong?”

“Two weeks ago when you told me to take an exit on the Venusian freeway that _literally ended in a lake_.” 

“That was one time, Mistah Steel!”

“During the Whitney case when you had me spend 20 minutes crawling through the air ducts and I ended up outside the compound instead of in the center of it. That time you swore up and down that our client had a husband and I wasted two weeks checking out six different alibis for a man they _didn’t even know_. When we worked for the HCPD and you looked up those building plans for me but you accidentally inverted the image-”

“I hate to interrupt what is truly a lovely bit of banter, but Rita darling he asks because there is no path to our left,” Nureyev’s smooth voice cuts in. 

“Well I don’t know what to tell- oh. Sooooorrrryyyyyyyyy Mistah Glass/Lovelace, I have a real hard time telling my lefts from my rights. You know my mom says it’s genetic, cause she’s always had a hard time with it too, I remember I thought I was right handed until I was eight cause she told me the wrong side-”

“I’m sorry to interrupt you again, Rita dear, but we really must be going.” Juno can hear footsteps echoing behind them now, and before he knows what’s happening Nureyev grabs his hand and tugs him down the tunnel to their right. 

“Oh! Are you on the run from _the law_? Are there henchmen chasing you down oooooo how exciting!”

“Rita, not now!” yells Juno, panting. 

“Dear Juno, let the girl have her-” Nureyev’s voice cuts off abruptly, as do his footsteps. Juno practically runs right into him, Nureyev reaching back both to halt his progress and to curl an arm protectively around Juno’s torso. 

“Lovelace?” Juno asks very softly. He peers around Nureyev’s back and finally spots what has him so on edge. A stocky individual, dressed in black and holding a small safe in one arm, has a pistol pointed directly at Nureyev’s chest. 

“Is Lovelace what they’re calling you now?” they ask. “Well, either way, _Lovelace_ , I can’t believe our luck, running into you like this. You owe me a favor after that heist on Jupiter, and I have just the thing in mind.” Nureyev’s arm tenses around Juno. 

“Juno, you have to run,” Nureyev whispers. 

“Like hell!” he responds. “I’m not leaving you again.” 

“Now is not the time to be self-sacrificing, detective.” There’s an edge of steel to his voice now. Nureyev begins attempting to shove Juno backwards, but Juno’s not having it. He knows self-sacrificing, remembers the feeling that came with locking the door behind him with Peter on the other side, with every situation he leapt into expecting (hoping, praying) to never come back.

This isn’t that. Juno will bring Peter home if it’s the last thing he does, and he intends to live to see it done. 

“Boss, what’s goin on?” In the background of her comms, Juno can hear Jet catching Buddy and Vespa up on the situation, speaking hurriedly.

“Juno and Jude, do you need extraction?” asks Jet. 

“It’s looking like we might have to take you up on that, big guy.”

“Juno we are running out of time,” Nureyev hisses. 

“Actually, love, you’re quite out of it,” says the stranger. They motion behind them, and two more figures stalk out of the darkness of the tunnel, one incredibly tall and thin, the other the kind of beefy Croesus Kanagawa would’ve loved. They nod once, and the thin one raises a stun blaster. 

Nureyev tries to shove Juno fully behind him at the same time that Juno attempts to throw himself in front of Nureyev, but in the end two shots are fired off before either of them can provide cover for the other. They’re both out cold before they hit the ground, hands still intertwined. 


	2. Captivity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juno has a bad time. Peter faces an old friend. A long overdue conversation begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey sorry this took forever, but also life is a thing that is happening to me currently. As always, more detailed tw are in the end notes, and also as always, if I missed anything please let me know and I'll add it!

Juno comes to with the worst headache since the THEIA was ripped out of his head, and it takes him a moment to remember where he is. Or rather, where he was before the stun blast. “Fuck,” he mutters. There’s a taste in the back of his mouth like iron, and he can feel restraints digging into his wrists behind his back, but when he opens his eye it’s dark. Best he can tell from the echoes, he’s in a small room, perhaps a supply closet or furnace room, but without any vision it's tough to get his bearings. 

“P- Jude?” he says softly. There’s no response. “Guess that was too much to ask for.” He begins jostling the restraints, trying to see it he can slip a wrist. He misses his trusty plasma cutter, regrets not working harder on a plan to get it through the scanners at the manor’s service entrance.

He’s got one thumb joint halfway out when the lock begins to rattle. “Shit, shit, shit,” he curses, trying to pick up the pace. In a moment the door is flung open, and light pours into the room. “Warn a lady before you blind him, hell,” says Juno, flinching away from the light. Rough hands hoist him off the floor and drag him unceremoniously out the door before his eye has time to adjust. He gets his vision back just before his escorts (who he recognizes as the two flanking Nureyev’s mysterious friend back in the tunnel) pull him through an open doorway into a wide room. His stomach lurches as he catches sight of Nureyev. The thief’s bleeding from a cut at his temple, curling around his ribs where he lays on the concrete floor. His hands are bound just like Juno’s, and the stranger is looking down at him with a predatory expression.

Juno’s brought into Nureyev’s line of sight, and as fear flashes in Nureyev’s eyes Juno figures out what this is. He’s not sure what they want Nureyev to do, or why he hasn’t done it yet, but this scene is all too familiar. It’s Miasma, sticking Peter in a room just out of Juno’s reach and forcing him to flip cards. It’s the henchmen, turning the dial all the way up as Peter tries and fails to bite back a scream, because Juno’s head is pounding and he just can’t make himself keep pushing. 

“Whatever it is, Lovelace, don’t do it-“ Juno’s cut off by a savage backhanded slap from the guard on his left, who he’s taken to calling meerkat. The guy’s got an oddly long torso and wide, round eyes. Juno hates him. 

“Shut up!” Meerkat hisses. Nureyev looks stricken. Juno tries to soothe him by smiling, but he can feel the blood now staining his teeth so he lets the expression fall. The stranger’s attention shifts back to Nureyev. 

“I’m telling you, Beatrix, I _cannot_ do what you are asking. Hurting him won’t change that.”

“See, it’s funny, because that’s what you said back on Jupiter about the Avalon safe, and then you snuck out in the middle of the night and cracked it with no problems I was able to determine.” Beatrix is sneering at Nureyev now. “You left me without a score and, may I remind you, without a _ride_. It took me three weeks to get off planet!” They kick Nureyev in the ribs to emphasize the point and Juno growls. 

“Hey, he says he can’t do it, then he can’t do it, and while we’re at it why don’t you pick on someone your own s-" he sees it coming this time, but that hardly makes the blow hurt less. 

“Juno, do shut up,” says Nureyev, still out of breath from the kick to his ribs. Juno spits the blood rapidly pooling in his mouth onto Meerkat’s shoes, but he keeps quiet. “Beatrix. What you are asking is _impossible_. With a couple of weeks to plan and research, maybe, but certainly not unprepared. The Junipero system requires a combination of deft software hacking, infiltration, and even then it has a failsafe that will incinerate the contents of the primary vault after one wrong password input or detected hacking attempt. And more importantly, _I have never broken into one before_.” Nureyev emphasizes each word of his last sentence. 

“Well there’s a first time for everything, isn’t there?” asks Beatrix. “Let’s give ‘Lovelace’ here a front row seat to what he’s setting his friend ‘ere up for, and then we’ll ask him again if he thinks he can do this.” 

“Wait, _please_ ,” Nureyev begs. It breaks Juno’s hammering heart, but this is not his first time in a situation like this. They’ll hurt Juno first, so Nureyev knows they mean business. Then they’ll ask him again; guilt is a horribly effective motivator. Beatrix doesn’t even bother turning around at Nureyev’s pleas, leading the way towards the opposite side of the cavernous room. 

“Lovelace, it’s gonna be fine. I’m sure I’ve been through way worse.” 

“That is an exceptionally low bar, my dear detective,” says Nureyev, and his voice is broken beneath the gentle teasing. 

Then Meerkat shoves Juno towards a corner of the room where there’s a truly sinister looking device crackling with electricity. Juno wishes he didn’t know what it was. “Seriously? You guys couldn’t spring for one of the nicer versions of the electrocution torture device? I mean a lady has to have standards, you know?” He expects a backhand, but Meerkat seems content to let the device do the talking as he shoves Juno into a chair and straps him down. Behind him, Juno can see the other guard dragging Nureyev over so he has a clear view, and Beatrix heads for the controls on what looks to Juno like some kind of modified hovercar battery. 

“You ‘ave your eyes open, Lovelace?” sneers Beatrix. “This’ll be quite a show.” Meerkat has ripped Juno’s shirt open (he doesn’t respond to Juno’s “buy me dinner first,” to his annoyance), and slaps electrodes on Juno none too gently. 

“You know Beat _rice_ ,” starts Juno, emphasizing the botched last syllable, “if you wanna upgrade your torture equipment I know a guy. Crazy as hell, but definitely has-" Juno’s cut off by pain arcing through the electrodes on his arms and chest. He tries to hold back a scream, he really does, but everything is on fire and Juno’s been shocked before, sure, but never like this, never this unrelentingly and strongly. He can’t breathe through the current, can’t move anything below his neck and can’t find it in him to force his teeth together and cut off his voice. 

Distantly, he can hear Nureyev begging them to stop, but he knows they won’t. Not until Juno’s been pushed past the point of recovering easily, so they have something to throw in front of Nureyev if he starts to slow down. This is not his first space rodeo. 

That doesn’t make it any easier to hold on.

After what feels like an eternity, he finally feels himself drift, the unrelenting pain fading into blackness as he loses his hold on consciousness. 

*     *     *     *

When Juno finally comes back to himself, it’s to the overwhelming feeling of _pain_. He can feel his muscles twitching ineffectually, and every breath stutters on the way in. There are restraints biting into his wrists and ankles, but he can’t quite remember why he’s tied up this time. 

“Toss them both in for a bit. We’ve got time, and we want _Lovelace_ fresh when he breaks the safe for us.” The voice snickers at that, backed up by two abrasive laughs coming from somewhere behind Juno’s head. He can’t remember where he is, but the name Lovelace calls to mind that goddamn cologne and he forces his eye to open. After wincing at the bright light and the abrasive feeling in his eye ( _is he back in the desert-_ ), he spots Beatrix’s face and remembers how he got here. He also sees the face of Peter Nureyev, staring unblinking at his own. As soon as Nureyev makes eye contact with Juno he looks away, a mask falling over the brief expression of relief. 

“Well you sure know how to treat a lady,” he wants to quip, but the shocks must’ve messed him up more than he thought, because all that comes out is “wuhh nnnmngh,” and forcing even those sounds out hurts from his chest all the way up to his jaw. He’s too tired to frown at that, but it hardly matters. The other guard (Juno has taken to calling her Meathead because he’s exhausted and creativity is hard) has hauled Nureyev to his feet and is leading him back towards the hallway to the room Juno woke up in. Meerkat rips the electrodes off of Juno’s chest and yanks him to his feet, beginning the walk after Meathead. Or at least, he tries. Juno’s legs feel boneless, and he barely gets one step before collapsing. 

“Hey, let’s go!” Meerkat punctuates the order with a sharp kick to Juno’s ribs, and for a moment he swears he feels his heart stall. Everything flashes white, the little air he’s been able to force into his lungs rushing out, and his chest throbs. He chokes more than gasps with the pain, and he’s vaguely aware of Nureyev spinning effortlessly out of Meathead’s grip and running to Juno. 

“Don’t be a hero, thief,” snaps Meerkat, and Nureyev raises his hands placatingly a few feet from Juno.

“I have no intention of daring theatrics.” His voice is smooth, but Juno can hear the undercurrent of icy rage. “I’d simply like to help the lady up, since you seem inclined to quite _literally_ kick him while he’s down.” Juno’s vision is still hazy, but he tracks Meerkat reaching for something at his belt threateningly and panic thrums through him. Pushing past the static that overtakes his vision, Juno uses the chair behind him to push himself up onto unsteady feet, swaying in place. 

“I’m doing great, N-Lovelace, what’re you talking about?” he quips, though the levity is undercut by the way the words shake and slur together. He still can’t quite see, but he can imagine the unimpressed look on Nureyev’s face. 

“May I offer him a hand, or were you hoping to get some more kickboxing practice in?” Meerkat growls at that, but Beatrix’s heavy accent cuts in before he can go any further.

“Let the man walk his lady, Martin. He looks like he could use the help.” Beatrix is taunting them, and Juno silently prays that Peter won’t take the bait. Wordlessly, Nureyev crosses the small distance between them, shouldering Meerkat out of the way and resting those long, slender hands under Juno’s arm and at his wrist to act as a tall, awkwardly hunched crutch. Even that much contact is overwhelming through his misfiring nerves, but he suppresses a flinch and forces his legs to drag themselves forward. The faster they get back to the room, the faster he can lie down and let whatever residual effects remain work their way out of his system. 

Meerkat and Meathead flank the pair, occasionally giving Juno or Peter a shove to make them move faster. Juno flinches at the extra contact every time, and he can feel Peter’s body grow a little tenser with each jerk of his body. 

It feels like it takes ages, but finally the door to the cell (which appears to be an out of use server room of some kind) is flung open and the pair is unceremoniously shoved into the space. Juno expects the door to immediately slam shut and trap them in the dark, but with a sadistic grin Meerkat flicks a switch on the other side of the door. The room is filled with overwhelming fluorescent light, accompanied by a grating buzz. Juno groans from where he’s sprawled out on the floor, Peter having shifted to crouch protectively in front of him. “Had to turn the light on, didn’t you?” he grumbles. Beneath the haze he’s pleasantly surprised that he has somewhat regained his ability to string words together. 

“Well, we have to make sure _Lovelace_ can see exactly what he’s gotten you into. And we don’t want you _too_ rested.” The grin on Meerkat’s face grows even wider as the door slams shut and the deadbolt slides home. 

“What a bunch of _dicks_.” Juno haphazardly throws an arm over his eyes to block out the light. “Like, yeah, it’s nice to be able to see, but fluorescents are the fucking worst.” He waits for Nureyev to say something, maybe make fun of him for being so blasé in the midst of such a dire situation, but nothing comes. 

He moves his arm back off of his face. “Nur-Lovelace? What’s wrong?” His vision is still fuzzy around the edges, but he can see Nureyev sigh and turn in his direction from where he has perched along the wall opposite Juno. 

“It seems it is my fate to continue leading you into danger and pain.” Nureyev’s eyes are shut, his whole face heavy with guilt. “Juno I am _so_ sorry.”

“What?” Juno struggles to a sitting position, ignoring Nureyev’s protest. “ _Hey_. You are not the reason I can only half feel my limbs right now.” He’s going for humor, but Nureyev’s barely restrained sound of distress suggests he’s fallen flat. “That is no one’s fault but that stocky motherfucker with the dumb accent. And their two cronies, I guess.” 

“Juno you heard them. This is my past coming back to haunt me, my mistakes once again resulting _directly in you being tortured_. This quite literally would not have happened if I had not been here.” 

“Okay, two things. One, if anyone understands your past mistakes coming back to haunt you, it’s me. The man who tricked me into letting him into my home when I was four _fucking_ years old almost destroyed an entire city because I couldn’t stop giving him the power to succeed. Thirty-four goddamn years of mistakes almost killed everyone-” He has to pause and take a breathe, shoving all his memories of O’Flaherty back down. “The point is, I’m the last lady who should be judging you for the ways your past hurts the people around you.”

Nureyev looks unconvinced, but he’s at least turned to fully face Juno now. He takes that as an improvement. “And the second thing?”

“The second thing is that nothing you did in your past makes this your fault. They made their choices; you didn’t offer me up to them, or make them electrocute the shit out of me, or force them to kidnap me in the fucking first place. Although, I’m glad they didn’t take you alone.”

Nureyev heaves a frustrated sigh. “Juno, I must admit I grow weary of your self-sacrificial antics. Had you run when I instructed, you wouldn’t be here. And considering what you’ve just said, I can’t help but wonder if you are happy to be in mortal peril. Is this just another room with a bomb and a locked door, Juno? Will I have to stop you, _again_ , from throwing yourself in front of every bullet that comes in anyone’s direction?” Nureyev is shaking, his voice gaining volume throughout his tirade. 

“Dammit, that’s not fair and you know it.”

“How is it not fair, Juno? Because this time you didn’t have to activate the lock yourself? Or because you only took _most_ of the opportunities presented to you for bodily harm?”

“I am _trying to be better_!” Juno’s shaking now, too, propped up on an unsteady arm and glaring at Nureyev. 

“ _In what way_?” 

“ _I got on the fucking ship this time, didn’t I_?” That stops Nureyev cold, and Juno takes the opportunity to barrel forward. “Listen, you have every right to be angry with me. What I did was- was fucking unforgivable. I know that. And I’m not trying to tell you that you can’t yell at me, or throw anything in your face, I’m just-” he huffs an angry sigh. “I’m not any fucking good at this. I’m trying to get better at treating my life like it matters. And I’m glad I’m here because it means you’re not alone in this, you beautiful, tall idiot.” 

Nureyev is quiet for a few moments after that, his face contemplative but unreadable. Juno waits for him to say something, feeling more apprehensive than he has since this entire ordeal began. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, Nureyev opens his mouth to start speaking. 

“Juno-” Whatever Nureyev was about to say is cut off as a sound startles them out of their discussion. Both heads flip around towards the insidious scuttling echoing out of the air vent.

“Well, that can’t be good,” mutters Juno. 

“Juno, whatever happens, if you see an opportunity to run you _take it_ this time.”

“Not gonna happen. I saw how easily you shook that guard, we both know you’d be gone if I weren’t here. You don’t leave me, I don’t leave you.” He’s resolute, and Nureyev turns a glare on him, ready to start another fight, but then the source of the noise makes itself known and everything narrows down to a single point on the dingy metal floor. 

Skittering across the floor towards the pair is Juno’s worst nightmare: a THEIA bot, roughly the size of an ancient Terran spider but no less intimidating for it. “Nurey-Lovel-dammit, do something!” Juno’s mind is panic and pain and _give up control to the THEIA Soul userJunoSteel where the mind falters the soul intercedes that’s a fact you can count on_ -

“You okay boss?” the bot screeches through tinny speakers. Juno is violently ripped out of his memories and stares in naked confusion at the robot. 

“ _Rita_?!” 

“Yep, that’s me! The one and only! Hacker extraordinaire, secretary-turned-detective-turned-thief, Ms. Rita-”

“Rita, darling, you are all of those things and more, but we do actually have a message for our wayward boys.” Buddy’s smooth voice cuts her off. 

“Oh, right.” 

“Juno, Jude, we are en route to get you as we speak.” Jet’s voice cuts in, and Juno sees Peter relax, leaning back up against the wall. 

“We always knew you’d come through, Jet, Buddy dearest,” says Peter. 

“Hey, I helped too ya know!”

“Thanks, Rita.” Juno can’t help the smile creeping across his face. “Owe you one.”

“Darn right you do!” He can practically see her face lighting up. Juno takes a shaky breath, letting himself fall back onto the floor to rest. It’s easier to close his eyes and relax his still twitching muscles knowing that Rita is on her way to get him. 

“Now that we have confirmed your location, we can formulate the best plan for your extraction,” Jet chimes in.

 

“We’re coming, darlings. You just need to hold on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for electricity used as a torture method, discussions of canon-typical suicidality, physical aggression
> 
> Please don't say anything about how electrocution by definition means you die; Juno is the POV and probably doesn't know that and also I cannot find a better word I beg of you don't @ me
> 
> Your comments and kind words inspire me to write more and better tales. Come yell at me on tumblr @rosemarysmomma if you'd like to discuss any number of lovely podcasts or berate me for tormenting our boys. More specifically, I have Many Feelings about the most recent two TAZ episodes please talk to me

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warnings for canon-typical violence, canon-typical depressive thoughts, mentions of passive suicidal thoughts, and implied sexual content (a character flirts heavily with a mark and the outcome of this flirtation is not directly stated)
> 
> Y'all are the best. Drop me a comment if you're feeling up to it! I never remember to respond to these but they really make my day, and encourage me to keep writing more and better tales. Come shout at me on tumblr at Rosemarysmomma about the various fandom hells I inhabit.


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